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Epic Games, the developer of Fortnite, has hired Infinity Ward and Respawn Entertainment co-founder Jason West, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. West will work on the company’s game development efforts. Epic did not share any other specific details about West’s new role. The Game Awards creator Geoff Keighley was the first to reveal the news on Twitter.
West is an industry veteran who co-founded Infinity Ward — the developer of such games as Call of Duty 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, among many other entries in the first-person shooter franchise — with Vince Zampella.
The duo were fired in 2010 and went on to form their own studio, Respawn, the same year, which is behind the Titanfall series and, most recently, the Battle Royale shooter Apex Legends. West retired from Respawn in 2013.
Epic Games is among the hottest developers in gaming at the moment, with its free-to-play Battle Royale shooter Fortnite continuing to generate enormous revenue. Additionally, in December the company launched its Epic Games Store, an online video game storefront, to compete with Valve’s Steam store. In the first few months since launch, the Epic Games Store has secured a number of exclusive PC titles, such as Metro: Exodus and the upcoming Borderlands 3.
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